Snow-holes

I feel like I'm having the opposite of an old man, get-off-my-lawn moment. It's a civic pride, stop-being-an-asshole thing.

I can't stand people who push the snow from their driveways into the street. It is so blatantly disrespectful to their neighbors. Half of the streets in South Buffalo right now are one lane roads. Plow crews are busy and people are trying to get to work and school, but some are too lazy to turn the nozzle on their snow blowers to the side so it stacks on the lawn. The selfish and petty nature of some people is astounding. It should not surprise or disappoint me but I guess it conflicts with my nature so much it probably always will.

It's like the people at my daughter's school who pull in the driveway to pick up and drop off. Paperwork went home at the beginning of the year saying do not pull in the driveway. There are kids walking through and buses trying to get in and out in a timely manner. And trying to get a spot on the street can be a pain in the ass. There are hundreds of kids all trying to get in the school at the same time. Add together all the cars and buses, plus normal morning traffic and the front of the school is chaos. Now, there are handicapped spaces in the lot. So before I continue this rant, I'm perfectly ok with people utilizing the handicapped spaces. What makes me wish death upon them is when its just a mom or dad in a hurry that don't feel like looking for a space in the street, or walking a city block to drop their kids off. And worse are the people who do it everyday.

In order to strike a sense of common decency in people it requires someone to speak up. And doing so is usually met with "Mind your own business asshole!" You're right, it's not my business, IT'S EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS! Be a neighbor. Participate in this society!

My 25 Most-Listened-To Songs

Since I started using Google play music about a year ago these are my top 25 most listened to songs:

1. A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat - Cattle Decapitation
2. Dead Set on Suicide - Cattle Decapitation
3. Blodtørost - Kvelertak
4. The Firat Commandment of the Luminaries - The Ocean
5. Firmament - The Ocean
6. Mjød - Kvelertak
7. Mesopelagic: Into the Uncanny - The Ocean
8. Forced Gender Reassignment - Cattle Decapitation
9. Offernatt - Kvelertak
10. Sightless Wisdom - Arsis
11. Killing Birds with Stones - Intronaut
12. The Welding - Intronaut
13. Fossegrim - Kvelertak
14. Your Disposal - Cattle Decapitation
15. Kingdom of Tyrants - Cattle Decapitation
16. The Axe - Gojira
17. Bathyalpelagic I: Impasses - The Ocean
18. Behold (God I Am) - Allaegon
19. Steps - Intronaut
20. Milk Leg - Intronaut
21. Ulvetid - Kvelertak
22. Sultans of Satan - Kvelertak
23. Swallowed by the Earth - The Ocean
24. Metaphysics of the Hangman - The Ocean
25. Rumbrave - Murder by Death

I find the list interesting, The Ocean and Cattle Decap were bands I discovered shortly after using the app. I'm confident saying that a few years ago not one band, with the exception of Gojira, would have appeared on this list. I wish there was a way to both keep the tally running and reset it so I could do a similar list next year while also maintaining an all time play count.

The Black and White World

This morning on our way to school Audrey asked me if I knew what show was on on Mondays. I guessed three or four times and gave up. She told me she didn't remember the name. So I said give me hints. These are the hints:

-He lived in a black and white world.
-He had brown skin.
-He died from a killing thing.
-He won a medal for helping people.

So I guessed Martin Luther King Jr. YEAH! That's it. She said they watch a show about him every Monday.

Right-To-Work Fallacy

When reading up on the Taft-Hartley act and its creation of the Right-to-work state I began to wonder, where do the states that are right-to-work fall in a list of the poverty rate? I also wanted to know where high union membership states fell on the poverty list.  

Before you continue reading I will say I'm not mathematician or statistician so I tried to keep the numbers simple. I know numbers can be picked and choosed to match one's argument but I tried to keep it to within the scope of the above question. 

There are 24 right-to-work states today. 15 are in the bottom half of states by poverty rate. Even worse, in the bottom 11 states by poverty rate, 9 are RTW. Of the bottom 10 states by poverty rate, only West Virginia and New Mexico are not RTW states, but are 18 and 35 in union membership respectively. 5 states have right-to-work in their state constitution, 4 of them are in the bottom 10 by poverty rate.  The average place on the poverty list for a RTW state is 30.85.

Now I acknowledge this isn't a perfect argument. Michigan just joined the RTW list in 2012, so the true effects of RTW haven't set in yet. 3 of the top 10 states by union membership are in the bottom 25 by poverty rate. Not one top 10 union membership states are in the bottom 10 for poverty rate. The average place on the poverty list for a top 10 union state is 18.5. 

By contrast the lowest 10 states by union membership have 5 states in the bottom 10 for poverty rate and are an average 33.8 on the poverty list. 

Right to Work States
State	Number by Poverty %	Bottom 10 Union %?	Poverty %
Utah	7	41	9.2
Virginia	8	47	9.2
Nebraska	10		9.5
Idaho	12		9.9
Nevada	17		10.6
Wyoming	18		10.6
Florida*	19		11.1
North Dakota	20		11.2
Iowa	22		11.3
South Dakota	26	44	11.8
Michigan	27		12
Kansas	31		12.5
Indiana	32		12.6
North Carolina	34	50	13.2
Gerogia	37	49	14.4
Tennessee	40	42	15
South Carolina	41	48	15
Arizona*	42		15.2
Oklahoma*	44		15.6
Arkansas*	45		15.9
Texas	46	46	16.2
Alabama	47		16.7
Louisiana	49	45	18.3
Mississippi*	50	43	20.1
Average	30.58		13.2

*Constitutional Amendment for Right-to-Work                                                            Poverty rate is 0.6% above national average.

Lowest 10 States in Union Membership
State	# by union %	# by poverty %	Poverty rate
Utah	41	7	9.2
Tennessee	42	40	15.0
Mississippi	43	50	20.1
South Dakota	44	26	11.8
Louisiana	45	49	18.3
Texas	46	46	16.2
South Carolina	47	41	15.0
Virginia	48	8	9.2
Georiga	49	37	14.4
North Carolina	50	34	13.1
Average		33.8	14.2%

Poverty rate is 1.6% above national average.

Top 10 States in Union Membership
State	# by union %	# by poverty %	Poverty rate
New York	1	38	14.5
Hawaii	2	5	8.6
Alaska	3	13	10.0
Washington	4	15	10.2
Michigan	5	27	12.0
California	6	35	13.2
New Jersey	7	2	6.8
Connecticut	8	9	9.7
Nevada	9	17	10.6
Illinois	10	24	11.5
Average		18.5	10.7%

Poverty rate is 1.9 % below the national average.

References

“Right to Work Law” Retrieved on November 24, 2013 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-to-work_law (November 20, 2013)

“Union Affiliation by US State” Retrieved on November 24, 2013 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_affiliation_by_U.S._state (June 20, 2013)

“List of US States by Poverty Rate” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_poverty_rate (July 12, 2013) 

School

I started this night very stressed about my workload for school. I was beginning to think that taking 4 classes was WAY too much. After a few hours of hard work, I handed a paper in and reviewed my course schedules. I'm feeling much more confident in my ability to handle this. It still won't be easy, but I'm feeling better now. I just need to keep at it and I'll get through this.

New Sabres third jersey

First of all what I like. I like the colors. I don't mind that the front is yellow and back is blue. I like that the primary logo is front and center. I like the number font and the loof of the back.  

What bothers me are the vertical white stripes on the sleeves and collar and the grey ends of the sleeves. The Buffalo word mark on the front is unnecessary. The combination of the word mark, blue/yellow line and multicolored collar make the chest area of the jersey look crowded. 

My biggest problem with the jersey design is the lack of hockey jersey stripes (horizontal waist and sleeve stripes). To me, a hockey jersey should ALWAYS  have horizontal waist stripes. 

One question I have is what will the back of the jersey look like when there are two numbers on it? The Ott jersey doesn't look like it will have enough room. If the edges of the numbers break onto the yellow I don't think I'll like it. Same with the Captain and Alternate letters on the front. If they are over the blue/yellow border I think that will look awkward and messy. I don't see how they'll fit otherwise, especially now that the letters have crossed swords under them.

I'll hold final judgment until I see it on the ice. I doubt I'll ever hate it, but neither will I love it. I wasn't a huge fan of the 40th anniversary jerseys either. 

For me the perfect Sabres jersey would be their current home and away with the primary logo on each side of the shoulder yoke. Want a third jersey? Wear the white Winter Classic jersey. 

Ron Rolston

So Pegula is still the owner. Darcy is still the GM. Rolston is still the coach.

I don't really know how to feel about the team. I understand how you can come to almost any conclusion. What I do know is Darcy inherited a good team that had a lot of problems. He put the finishing touches on them fell 2 wins short of The Cup. Then he totally rebuilt the team from scratch and fell 4 wins short with what some call the greatest Sabres team ever. He did it with an owner who said the team had to make money.

Now the financial restrictions are gone and the team is in free fall! A majority of the fan base wants him fired. I could understand why. To some not firing Darcy makes Pegula look wishy-washy.

At this point I think it's best if we all just chill. None of us is going to make Terry Pegula fire Darcy Regier. Not Bucky Gleason. Not Mike Harrington. And certainly not a fan or a blogger. Just take a deep breath. Enjoy the beautiful summer weather. See what move Darcy pulls off on Draft Day and hope for the best.

For me right now I'm emotionally uninvested. I care, but not that much. I'll renew my mini-pack next year. I'll watch all their games. I'll root for them to win every game and make the playoffs. I'm still a fan but I'll need to see where things go before I really get excited for the team.